Mobile is now the main banking channel for Australian online customers. Forrester’s 2024 data shows that 75% of Australian online adults who are banking customers have done their banking on a mobile banking app on their smartphone in the past month, considerably higher than all other banking channels. But how well are Australian banks differentiating themselves when it comes to mobile banking experiences?
To find that out, we reviewed the mobile apps of the Big Four Australian banks in June and July of 2024: ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank), National Australia Bank (NAB), and Westpac. The apps were scored across 18 customer scenarios, including managing finances, moving money, saving, and accessing help and support, which were combined with the results from Forrester’s Banking Customer Experience Index Rankings, as well as findings from unmoderated usability testing with 40 customers of the included brands.
Westpac Retains Its Top Spot With New Industry-Leading Features, While CommBank Is Not Far Behind
Westpac continues the lead with best-in-class money movement as well as account and money management. This year, the bank has rolled out new personalized features and experiences such as keeping customers informed of how much of their spending limit they have used, and providing a “remaining to spend” amount based on their budget. CommBank is a close second, with leading savings features. CommBank’s mobile app stands out with its savings capabilities, in particular automating savings to reduce the cognitive load on customers.
Mobile Banking Innovation Gap Widens In Australia Amidst Rising Customer Expectations
Only half of the Australian banks we reviewed have updated their retail banking apps with innovative and personalized features that could, for instance, anticipate customer needs or serve these customers proactively in important moments. This lack of progress represents a significant opportunity for improvement and customer engagement. Just 63% of Australian online adults who are banking customers agree that their bank offers mobile capabilities that meet their needs.
Customer expectations continue to rise rapidly especially at a time when many Australian consumers are already using cognitive tools to navigate their everyday personal and professional lives, and tech giants such as Apple are embedding artificial intelligence (AI) into their smartphone’s operating system.
Key findings from our review include:
- Account management features are table stakes. Specifically, transaction dispute and changing personal information in the app. All four Australian banks provide reassurance via email that a dispute has been submitted. All four banks also let customers change their address within the app easily and leverage two factor authentication to extend a sense of security, and notify customers via email to confirm that their address has been changed.
- Effective financial well-being tools and clarity around payment flow are weak spots. While all the Australian banks we reviewed let customers add and pay a new payee using their mobile number without needing a bank account number, none provide visual cues that indicate the number of steps that are required to complete the payment; markers of position and progress are also missing. Support for customers’ financial well-being is also a key area for improvement.
- Some banks are starting to tap into data, analytics and intelligent automation to empower customers. Forrester believes autonomous finance is the next generation of financial services where algorithm-driven services help to reduce the cognitive load on individual users and aim to improve financial outcomes in an automated manner. CommBank’s ‘Smart Savings’ and Westpac’s ‘remaining to spend’ features use predictive analytics and AI to help customers understand how much spare cash they have and nudges customers to transfer this amount to their savings.
Learn more about the findings of Forrester’s Digital Experience Review for Australian mobile banking apps as well as best practices that banks should follow to improve CX here. Have a question? Contact inquiry@forrester.com to have a discussion with me!
